Megaleioths

The Megaleioths has no age, no gender, and a sadistic sense of humor, as a young Todd Anderson is about to find out. He just wants a job; the Megaleioths wants a toy. When Todd is handed the ownership of an entire mysterious laboratory, the Megaleioths begins poisoning his mind, fueling a bloodthirsty rage that has haunted Todd his entire life. Soon, the fate of the world rests in Todd's hands, but, in the end, he may prove to be our downfall.
(This novel is split into sections, rather then chapters. Some are shorter then others)
View table of contents...

Chapters:

First of all, if you ever call me 'grandpa' again, I'll pop
your eyeballs out of your skull and feed them to my cat. And
second, I haven't told this story to anyone in years, so I might
forget a few details.
My name is Todd Anderson. When I was, oh, about twenty six
years old, I applied for a job at Heisenberg Laboratories Inc. I
had no friends, an apartment that smelled like a sewer, and had
taken the bus to get to the tall, white tower that looked like a
black (or, rather, white) sheep among the shorter, grey buildings
that surrounded it.
I had applied for jobs all over the city, but not even
McDonalds had bothered to read my application. I had thought it
was because of the way I looked, or perhaps the fact that I had
dropped out of high school, but now that I think back on it, it
was more like some unseen force had lead me to this mysterious
place, where, once I stepped inside, my life would change
forever.
It was a cool, summer day, but inside Heisenberg Laboratories
the air conditioner seemed to be on full blast, and I found
myself wishing I had a winter coat. I looked around what appeared
to be some kind of waiting room, already re-thinking my decision
to come. The walls were the same blinding white as the outside,
and the carpet beneath my feet was a strange blood-red. The glass
front door was nearly invisible amongst the huge floor-to-ceiling
windows that surrounded it. The ceiling itself seemed built for
giants. On the left side of me were small folding chairs that
looked about as comfortable as a porcupine's back. On the right,
a picture of an old man. In front of me, a small desk. Behind
that desk, a girl.
I straightened the dark blue tie around my neck and walked
towards the desk, wishing I had spent a little more time combing
my blond hair that morning. She had short light brown hair and a
pair of glasses on her freckled face. Not the Hollywood version
of pretty, but pretty enough for me to realize immediately she
was out of my league. She had yet to notice me, and was typing
away at her computer at breakneck speed.
I stood there for a moment or two before clearing my throat.
She looked up at me, startled, and accidentally knocked the
coffee cup next to her on to her lap.
"Ahh that's hot-!" She jumped out of her seat, coffee
spilling onto the floor and soaking into her jeans.
"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" I moved forward in an attempt to
help but she put up her hand.
"It's alright. I've got it." She opened a drawer in her desk,
snatching a handful of napkins and hopelessly trying to lessen
the embarrassing stain on her pants. "What do you want?"
Her voice, bitter and annoyed, stung. I swallowed. Way to
go. A voice sneered in my head. This how you always
introduce yourself? "Um... I'm here for the... well I saw
the ad in the paper and..." I trailed off, unsure of how to
finish. Never mind. I thought of saying. Wrong
address. I'll leave you alone forever now.
"The job?" She raised an eyebrow. After a moment of
hesitation, I nodded. She opened another drawer and handed me a
slip of paper. "Elevators over there." She gestured behind me and
got back to cleaning the mess that had been partially my fault. I
thought of apologizing again, and decided it would be better if I
could avoid ever speaking to or being in the same room with her
again.
The elevator that I had somehow managed to miss earlier was
next to the picture of the old man. I looked at the paper in my
hand. Room 124, 13th floor. I tried not to see the irony in those
numbers. I pushed the 'up' button and waited. For a few
unbearable minutes, I stood there, staring at the elevator's
silver doors while the girl I didn't even know the name of
cleaned her desk to the left of me. Finally, they opened with a
soft 'ding' and I stepped inside.
Smooth jazz played as I waited for the elevator to reach my
floor. The seconds felt like hours, and I began to feel pretty
sure that the jazz was just the same note being played over and
over on the saxophone. Finally, another ding. The doors slid open
to a seemingly endless hallway. I walked in an eerie silence,
passing door after door.
Then, there it was. The numbers 124 gleamed in gold lettering
on the door. Above them, the words The Boss
shone in larger print. I sighed and knocked.
"Come on in!" A muffled voice called from behind the door. I
did as I was told and walked into a room that felt more like a
small apartment.
The carpet was still red, but it was now matched by the
walls. The room was lit only by a lamp and the sunlight flooding
in through the window behind the large wooden desk at the far end
of the room. An old man with white hair sat behind the desk, a
wide grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. For a crazy
moment, I thought of saying hello Santa, where's your
beard?
"Evening." The man gestured to a chair on the opposite side
of his desk. "Sit down." I sat. The man, which I had now
recognized to be the man in the picture in the lobby, interlocked
his fingers and leaned back in his chair. "What brings you to my
office this fine day?"
"I'm... I'm here about the job offer."
He stared at me for a while, as if analyzing me. "What
exactly drove you to accept a job in a place like this?"
I opened my mouth to speak, and then closed it.
He smiled. "No idea, huh? Maybe it was just the first ad you
saw and you took a chance. Or, your parents said you had to do
something with your life. No, I've got it. You're here because
you're looking for an exciting career in science, is that
it?"
I got the sense he was laughing at me. A little offended, I
answered "no, I just came here for a job."
He rubbed his chin. "I see." The old man paused, as if deep
in thought. "Son, I'm going to take another guess at something,
and if I'm wrong, you just let me know. Your parents never really
cared. Maybe they were busy with work or you had another sibling
who was just about perfect. You grew up alone. Never had many
friends or a real relationship with someone. Maybe you went to
jail a few times, but the point is you live in a shit house and
can't seem to get a job anywhere else." He leaned forward, his
eyes staring straight into mine. "Am I right?"
I didn't answer. I knew he was probably just guessing from my
appearance, but he seemed to get almost every detail right. It
was creepy as hell. "The ad didn't say what the job was." I
managed to say.
He looked at me, amused. "You see, Mr..."
"Anderson." I said automatically. "Todd Anderson."
"Mr. Anderson." He nodded. "As you can probably tell, I'm not
exactly getting any younger." He swiveled his chair around to
look out the window, a frown deepening on his face. "I'm old.
I've been old for a long time now. I won't be around forever, Mr.
Anderson, and I can't just leave this company to rot. I need a
successor. But not just anyone will do."
"Wait what are you-"
He cut me off. "You may not know it, Todd Anderson, but
you're a lot more special then you think." He wasn't looking at
me, but I could still picture his intense blue eyes in my
head.
I blinked. It felt like I was in a dream, that in a few
moments my alarm would sound and I would wake up to find myself
late for the real appointment at Heisenberg Laboratories Inc. It
was all a dream. An extremely vivid dream, but still a
dream.
"...How special?" I asked when I couldn't think of anything
else.
"Very." He turned to face me. "I need a successor, Mr.
Anderson." He repeated, sending a shiver down my spine. "Tag,
you're it." He grinned again, and I felt like fainting.
"I-I can't." I stuttered, wanting to flee, but, like a bird
caught in the eyes of a cobra, I was trapped.
The walls were now not only the color of blood but soaked in
the stuff, the metallic smell filling my nostrils, choking me.
The very air seemed filled with unnatural power, and there was no
escape. Something very wrong was happening in that room and every
instinct told me to get out, get out. But I couldn't, no
matter how badly I wanted to. My fate had been chosen for
me.
"Yes, you can. You have to. For the good of mankind you have
to."
I swallowed. "...And if I do?"
"Then, Mr. Anderson, you will become one of the most powerful
men in the world." The man coughed, suddenly looking weary and
ready to drop at any moment. "You will be responsible for
anything that happens either in this laboratory or out of it. You
will have to make hard decisions, and keep secrets anyone else
would blurt out in public. You will see a lot of terrible and
wonderful things in your time here, and you can never
retire."
He stood up and extended his hand for me to shake it. Still
feeling like I was in a dream, I took his hand. He had what my
dad would have called an ox-like grip, and he was still staring
at me with those bright blue eyes. "You have 24 hours to think it
over. Let's hope I don't kick the bucket before then." He smiled,
but I sensed not only a kind of urgency behind that smile, but
desperation. He was running out of time, and I was his last
hope.
I can't remember my trip home, but I do remember standing in
my apartment for hours, my thoughts whirling like a hurricane.
Eventually, I suppose I decided that the old man (who I had yet
to learn the name of) was crazy and went to bed.
The next thing I remember is waking up at precisely 3:15 am,
snatching for the phone on my bedside table, and calling a number
I didn't know. "I'll do it." I said into the phone, breathing
heavily.
There was a soft click, indicating that the other person had
hung up, but somehow I knew they had gotten the message. The next
day, I would start training for my career at Heisenberg
Laboratories Inc.